1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of media and communication control devices in facilities. More specifically, this invention relates to using digital technologies to deliver a live video feed over a local area network (LAN) in a facility while retrievably overriding the currently displayed content on a plurality of video display devices included in the facility's video network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Schools have traditionally used intercoms, paging systems, and public address systems. Over the years, technologies developed enabling the use of more advanced audio-visual equipment. For example, it's not unusual for the rooms in a school, or other facility, interconnected by an existing cable network. On each cable network, numerous media players, for example televisions, are all shared. Each of these media players are capable of receiving analog signals. The signals are combined. Different signals may be accessed by changing the channel. The source for these signals could come from outside the facility in some sort of broadcast or cable transmittal. The signal might have also come from a media device, such as a VCR or DVD within the facility.
Eventually, schools developed systems capable of providing video announcements. These audio/video systems have replaced the traditional audio-only equipment in many schools. The addition of video has enabled these schools to display live video content to, e.g., the classrooms, and other locations in the school which included televisions tapped into the facilities cable network.
These prior-art-video-announcement systems, however, have their disadvantages.
First, these systems usually require the announcement consistently be made from the same classroom. The camera used is typically of the analog-signal-producing ilk. In order to use the camera to play live video using the school's existing systems, an additional coax line must be run from the camera's location to what is typically an audio visual/computer equipment room in the school. This room is where the audio visual players, e.g., VCR's, and computing equipment, servers, etc. exist. It also may include a switching device capable of switching video content playing on a particular analog device, e.g., a VCR to play on a particular television in a classroom, or a plurality of televisions in a plurality of classrooms.
To set up for live video, the school will typically install an additional coax outlet in the room in which a broadcast is to be made. From the installed outlet, a coax line serving this outlet runs back to the switching device in the equipment room and serves as a video in line from the camera to the facility's AV system. From the switch, there will already be output coax lines which transmit video to the televisions in the classrooms.
Before starting the live video feed, a user must plug the camera into the input coax outlet. Then someone in the equipment room must manually stop or pause all the media playing devices, e.g., VCR's, DVD's. Once these devices have been stopped or paused, the switching device in the equipment room must be manipulated so that the input feed from the camera is broadcast on the desired televisions in the particular classrooms for which the announcement needs to be heard. This will enable the live feed to the classrooms, and the presentation is made.
Once the broadcast is finished, the feed is terminated by manipulating the switching device to again accept video content from the other media playing devices. The user is then required to manually un-pause and/or play these media devices to resume playing. The task of returning all of the player devices to the exact states existent before the live video feed is very cumbersome, time consuming, and prone to error.
Some schools have utilized a system wherein a live video announcement may be made from a plurality of classrooms or other rooms. This is accomplished by installing an extra coax outlet in each room in which live broadcasts are to be made from, and then running coax video input lines all the way back from each outlet to the AV room in the school.
An example of this type of system is shown in prior-art FIG. 1. Referring to the figure, we see that a school has a plurality of classrooms 110, 112, 114, and 116. Each classroom has a television included therein for playing video content. Room 110 includes a television 140. Room 112 includes a television 142. Room 114 includes a television 144. Room 116 includes a television 146. Each of these televisions are connected through coax lines 154, 156, 158, and 160. These are normally a part of the school's conventional cable television network.
Through these lines, the televisions are able to receive and demodulate modulated/combined analog signals emitted from a plurality of outputs 138. These outputs may represent the outputs from VCR's, DVD's or other known video playing devices. They may also be a part of a more complicated system which is included in a central control room 118.
Control room 118 includes an output device 136. Output device 136 may be a device which receives content from a plurality of sources, e.g., VCR's, DVD's, television or cable programming. Also possibly included in room 118 is a switching control system 134 with a plurality of control knobs 135. Using knobs 135 on switch 134, a user is able to select content from a variety of video players and deliver to any or all of classrooms 110, 112, 114, and 116.
The system is also set up to play live video from any of classrooms 110, 112, 114, and 116. This is done by providing coax outlets 126, 148, 150, and 152 in each of the classrooms. Cables 128, 162, 164, and 166 run from each of these outlets and serve to transmit live video in an analog signal from any of the classrooms back to the control room 118. These signals are receivable into a plurality of analog inputs 130 on a receiving component 132 in the control room.
Regardless of classroom selected for the video presentation, an analog video camera 120 is used to create the video signal. In the FIG. 1 example, camera 120 is shown as being connected via cable 124 into outlet 126 for a live broadcast from room 110. Though used in FIG. 1 for a live feed from room 110, the camera could easily be plugged into outlet 148 in room 112, outlet 150 in room 114, or outlet 152 in room 116. This makes live feeds from any of the classrooms possible.
Regardless of the classroom, someone in the equipment room must stop or pause all the media playing devices, e.g., VCR's, DVD's, currently running. Once these devices have been stopped or paused, this person will then adjust the switches 134 using knobs 135 to match up the live video from line 128 to be broadcast over the televisions in selected classrooms. The presentation may then be made.
Once the broadcast from room 110 is finished, the person in the control room will switch the outputs 138 so that they receive content from the same sources as before the announcement was made. It is then required to manually un-pause and/or play these media devices to resume playing where the video content left off when the switch was made to the live-feed announcement.
These manual requirements make this process taxing. It likely will involve the participation of a second person—other than the presenter—in the school's equipment room to make the necessary switched connections before the presentation. This is so that there is not a significant interruption period caused by the live feed. And it will take this second individual significant time to do all the switching, pausing, and stopping required. Thus, these delays may require the presenter to wait around while the tech personnel try to get things set up.
It is additionally labor intensive to reset all of the interrupted media players to their initial settings after the live-feed presentation is finished. It may also be difficult to remember exactly which media playing devices were running, and which were not. This makes for errors in resetting the devices to their original states after the announcement is made.
The FIG. 1 system also requires the addition of additional cabling to each classroom, e.g., classrooms 110, 112, 114, and 116. These classrooms will typically already have includes a single coax output outlet with a first coax, e.g., cables 154, 156, 158, and 160, for receiving video content to the classroom from the control room. They typically will not, however, include a second line (e.g., cables 128, 162, 164, 166) necessary to receive a live-video feed from the classroom. Thus, this additional cabling must be added at additional expense.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a new system which does not require (i) significant set up prior to the announcement, (ii) significant resetting to return the classrooms to the preexisting played content thereafter, (iii) the installation of significant additional cabling and associated equipment, or (iv) other resources.